Heartache
by kennadee-chickadee
Summary: Hermione finds Draco crying in the bathroom. One-shot. Dramione.


"Excuse me, I have to go and vomit," Hermione said to Harry, barely holding back tears, as she watched Ron and Lavender snog each other in the hallway. She turned around and walked briskly to the bathroom on the first floor. The tears began to flow freely, now that she was away from everyone's nosy questions about why she was crying. Hermione began to walk even faster, attempting to wipe away her tears while trying to hold onto her books.

It didn't matter that she was about to miss Defense Against the Dark Arts; right now, her broken heart was more important than Snape's wrath. She would just have to get the homework from Harry later tonight.

This was unbelievable. How could Ron be such a hypocrite? He always got mad whenever hers and McLaggen's names were mentioned in the same sentence and refused to talk to her for a week, yet, here he was, snogging Lavender to no end and he expected her to _not _be angry? _How dare he!_

As she neared the bathroom, Hermione thought she heard a noise within the walls. She turned the corner and stopped short in front of the door. She gently placed her ear to it and listened carefully. Someone was definitely in there. Crying. As quietly as she could, she pushed open the door and let out a silent gasp.

It was Malfoy! Crying! In the girl's bathroom!

He was standing over the sink, head bowed, his body racked with sobs. He was muttering to himself, some of the words reaching Hermione's ears.

"Oh, god… I-I can't… can't… k-kill me… h-he'll kill m-me…"

When he lifted his head, Hermione saw in the cracked mirror that his eyes were red and puffy, his hollow face streaked with tears.

"Get out of here, Mudblood!" Malfoy suddenly shouted at her reflection, startling her. He wheeled around and pointed his wand at her.

"Malfoy, this is a girl's bathroom. Why are you in a girl's bathroom?" said Hermione in a hushed voice.

"Why aren't you in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Granger?" Malfoy sneered at her, a look of anger contorting his normally handsome features.

His comment threw her off guard; she had been so preoccupied with this startling encounter for the last several minutes, she'd forgotten why she was here in the first place. A new wave of hurt washed over her as she thought of Ron and Lavender, sitting together in Defense and her eyes began to tear up.

"Th-that's none of y-your business," Hermione stuttered, fighting back her tears. "The real question is why _you_, a boy, are here, in the girl's bathroom. The least you could've done is gone to the boy's, which is right next door. Or is there a specific reason for you being here? Because if you don't clear off right now, I'll tell McGonagall what you've been up to."

The last part was sort of a lie, but not really. After all, she had been looking at the map with Harry when he was hunting for Malfoy. But he didn't need to know that. Just as long as he got into trouble.

As her voice grew louder and more authoritative, Malfoy lowered his wand, fear crossing his face.

"So, why were you in here, Malfoy?"

At this last sentence, Malfoy's face contorted, suddenly bursting into tears. He sunk to his knees, covering his face with his hands, moaning.

Frightened, Hermione backed away, horrified by what she'd done. She'd never made anyone cry before, let alone hurt anyone's feelings. For the first time, she felt she'd really pushed it.

Hermione cautiously moved towards Malfoy, kneeling down beside him, and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Surprisingly, he didn't shrug it away.

"Draco, I'm sorry… I didn't mean it like that… really, I'm sorry… oh, Draco, please don't cry… please…" Hermione begged, tears silently streaming down her face. This was too much for her. First failing potions, then Ron and Lavender, and now Malfoy, it all washed over with a fresh wave of pain and fear.

"Oh god… I can't do it anymore… I can't take it… it's too much… please, Granger… please… just leave me alone…" Malfoy sobbed into his hands, shaking uncontrollably.

"No, Draco… please, just tell me what's wrong… I can help you… just tell me…" Hermione spoke in a quiet voice, trying to wipe away his tears as well as her own.

"I can't… I just can't…" He was now lying on the cold stone floor of the bathroom, still crying. Hermione attempted to reach out to him, but he only shoved her away from him, yelling at her to leave him alone. She tried again a little later, but he shoved her away again. Finally, in desperation, she grabbed his shoulders, and begged him not to cry. But this time he slapped her, hard and went back to sobbing on the ground. Hurt and upset, she backed away into a corner and watched him.

After what seemed like forever, Draco's cries finally subsided, now he was gasping for air. Hermione looked up from her knees at him, afraid to approach, for fear of being hit again. Her cheek still hurt from where he had slapped her.

Suddenly, the bell rang. Hermione jumped up and ran towards the door, never more desperate to get away from anyone before.

Without warning, something solid and heavy slammed into her and her hip exploded in pain. The next thing she knew, she was against the nearest wall, hands held up above her head, one of his hands in a vice-like grip on her throat. She struggled, but of no avail; he was too strong.

"Tell anyone about this, Mudblood, and I'll find you and hurt you in ways beyond your wildest nightmares," Malfoy hissed in her face, his cold eyes hardened with anger, pain and something she couldn't recognize… was it fear, maybe?.. She couldn't recognize it.

"Understand?" He said a little more softly, releasing his grip on her and letting her away from the wall. "Look, if anyone finds out about my… mission, then they'll be killed. No one is supposed to know. I just can't have that with you. Promise me, Hermione, promise that you won't breathe a word to anyone. Please." He grabbed her hands and held them to his chest. His eyes had filled with tears once again, pleading with her.

"I-I promise," Hermione croaked, her throat hurting from where he had

Then she ran to the door, flung it open, and sprinted down the hall. She ran as fast as she could, as far as she could, away from Draco.

_He called me by my name. He never called me that. Never. _Hermione thought to herself as ran to Charms, her heart aching for the boy she once thought she knew.


End file.
